The Horror
by Razell
Summary: Jander Sunstar encounters a horrifying new breed of vampire.


_The Horror_

White eyes peered from the concealing trees, searching for prey. After the last struggle, and the one that had escaped, he knew that they would not take the wooded road again. He would have to come closer to the village, perhaps he could lie in wait in the fields. But he was hungry, _so_ hungry. . . He could just attack the village, take what he needed and retreat. But something, something deep within his dimmed mind, told him that would drive all the prey away. . .

"A _vampire_, you say?" The elf's beautiful voice seemed out of place in the rough tavern. A babble of confusion erupted, "Yes!" "No!" "It's so horrible!" "We're not sure." A stocky man said, "Not after what Radu said he'd seen take Misha, and the _bodies_..." He shuddered, and Jander Sunstar wondered what exactly he was getting into, "The creature... _Mutilated_ the bodies?" He asked softly, "Mutilated!" The big man laughed mirthlessly, "The heads were cracked open! The thing wasn't content to drain the poor folks' dry, it ripped the brains from their skulls!"

Athaekeetha was hungry, so very hungry.

"It was..." Radu stared vacantly at the wall of his home, even as Jander bristled painfully under the various holy symbols and icons filling the small room. "It was a _monster_." His voice was soft and toneless, "It was gray, with white eyes, like a statue's eyes. It wasn't human. It had long..." He shuddered slightly, "_Things_ hanging down it's face..." He paused, muttering vaguely to himself, "Did it have a face? Or just those things. . ." It was clear to Jander that, while Radu had escaped the creature's jaws, he was still trapped with the horror in his mind. Jander had come here to destroy a vampire, but now he was not so sure he _was_ dealing with a vampire anymore. Whatever it was, Jander had to stop it. He couldn't let more people die, he couldn't just walk away. . .

He gathered the things that he needed, and made ready for battle.

Athaekeetha saw him heading down the path, and his feeble mind marked something strange. Had he possessed keener hearing, he would have realized the man walking toward him had no heartbeat, had he a sense of smell, he would have scented a curious lack of blood, but, as it was, he had to rely on his eyes. The man's body heat was wrong, he was barely visible in his infravision. Like a corpse. But he was there, he moved, and Athaekeetha was so hungry. . .

Jander had never seen anything like the creature that leaped from the shadows. It was naked and filthy, a gray humanoid form with sinewy muscles, four-taloned hands and three clawed feet. And the head, the _head_ of the thing was something out of a nightmare, hairless, with white eyes and four thick tentacles ringing a circular mouth adorned with pointed teeth. Jander had suspected a Mind Flayer, from the descriptions of the attacker and his _modus operandi_, but this, _this_ was a monster far more horrible than even he could have imagined. He had never seen Mind Flayers, Illithids, with his own eyes, but he had heard tales of them throughout his travels. He didn't know much about the Mind Flayers, but he was certain that they didn't look like this, not while alive, anyway. He heard no heart beating within that muscular chest, confirming his fears. . . Taking brains _and_ blood.

It could only be an _Illithid vampire_.

Athaekeetha, hungry for blood and brains, eagerly leaped upon the smaller creature, and was surprised when the creature's feeble hands caught hold of his own muscular arms and held him fast. Not expecting resistance, the Illithid vampire was pushed backward, but quickly recovered and struck out with his tentacles, striking the man in the face.

Jander was staggered by the blow, he felt bones break, had he been alive, the blow would have killed him. He reached out with one hand to firmly grasp the creature's throat, and pulled a stake from his cloak with the other, ramming it deep into what he could only hope was the Illithid's heart. The horror backhanded him, sending the elven vampire flying into a tree with a sound of breaking limbs and shattering bones.

Athaekeetha angrily ripped the wooden weapon from his dry flesh, and turned to deliver a _Mind Blast_. This one had hurt him, he could not risk being injured again. But the man was gone, and in his place stood a large animal, snarling, bleeding and hungry for blood. Blood Athaekeetha didn't have...

Jander had lost control, it was kill or be killed now. The golden wolf had emerged, and he leaped onto the Illithid with a force that would have staggered an elephant. The Illithid, however, not only remained standing, he grasped the furry, lupine body with his boney four-taloned hands. The wolf's jaws savaged Athaekeetha's throat, and his claws rent ropey flesh. The taste was so repulsive that the wolf gagged, losing his grip just long enough for the angry Illithid to dig his sharp talons deep into Jander's flesh before smashing him brutally against the ground.

Athaekeetha was afraid now, he knew something was wrong. This creature had hurt him twice now, had gone from man to animal, it had _hurt_ him! He had to get away! The instinct of self-preservation overwhelmed that of hunger. He fired his most powerful _Mind Blast_ as the wolf rose shakily to his paws, and fled into the night, in search of safety and easier prey.

After what seemed an eternity, Jander painfully lifted himself from the forest floor. He felt as if every bone in his body was broken, his mind ached as though it had been driven through a thresher, and, worse, it would soon be sunrise. The monster was gone. There was nothing more he could do. Jander transformed into mist and fled in search of dark sanctuary.

The sunlight would not harm Athaekeetha, though he did not like it, but this time he couldn't afford to seek shelter, he had to flee. His wounds healed quickly, but the fear still drove him on, so he ran until the the mists engulfed him. Only in the concealing mists did he stop to rest, here he would be safe... But he would have to find a new feeding ground...

Jander lay broken and battered in an abandoned shepherd's hut, it granted cool darkness, a safe place to heal, and time to think about his opponent. The Illithid had displayed no strategy, no sign of the intelligence that one would expect of a Mind Flayer, indeed, it had acted more like a wild animal than anything. It must have been almost mindless, or insane. He did not know which thought terrified him more. An insane vampire Illithid. _Lathander help us._

From what hell could such a horror possibly come? _Bluetspur_, of course, that horrid domain was rumored to be ruled by Illithids. But _how_ could such a thing exist? If the taste of Illithid flesh was so sickening to his wolf form, how could any vampire turn an Illithid? Was it twisted black magic? Some perverse Illithid experiment? He was afraid to speculate on the point, and he certainly had no intention of going to Bluetspur to find out... As soon as he healed, he'd have to track the creature, if only to ensure that it had left the area. He had wounded it, but he knew that amount of damage alone wouldn't kill such a powerful creature. He had driven a stake through its heart, and it hadn't flinched. Besides, it had injured him far too badly to pursue, he would need several days rest and feedings before he recovered fully.

Later,

Athaekeetha crouched in a field, feasting on an unfortunate farmer. He had no idea where he was, nor did he care, he had little concept of location, and the idea of traversing domains was beyond his feeble comprehension. All he knew was hunger, and his hunger was assuaged, for now.

Jander Sunstar tracked the creature to the misty border of the domain, and knew that it was pointless to go on, the mists could have carried it anywhere. The people here would be safe, or whatever passed for safe in this gods' cursed land, but the horror, and possibly others like it, was still out there, claiming victims.

The work of hunting vampires had just become a far more dangerous proposition.

The End.

_Notes_:

_Bluetspur_ means 'Blood Trail' or 'Blood Spurt'. It is a domain on the Demiplane of Dread, often called _Ravenloft_, ruled by The Illithid God-Brain, (Not to be confused with Ilsensine) and populated by Illithids and their thralls.

_Athaekeetha _comes from the _Monstrous Compendium II_ and is not my character. He has little more than an animal intelligence and cunning, I tried to portray this, hopefully I succeeded.

_Why does a vampire hunt vampires_? Jander hates the evil undead, even though he himself is undead, he is not evil.

A vampire Illithid is almost impossible to kill, even if reduced to ashes it will regenerate.

_Official Statistics_, I personally don't think Athaekeetha has the mental capacity to be truly evil, but I don't make the rules...

_Athaekeetha_

Race- Illithid (Vampire)

Height- 6'4"

Weight- ?

Alignment- Chaotic Evil

The last created and most intelligent of the original vampire Illithids, Athaekeetha was 'destroyed' by its creators, but survived to plague the Demiplane. Though the most intelligent of his kind, he only has a level 1 (_Animal_) intelligence. The origins of The Vampire Illithid are told in the Ravenloft adventure module '_Thoughts of Darkness_'.

_Jander Sunstar_

Race- High Elf (Ar'Tel'Quessir) Vampire

Height- 5'9"

Weight- 130 pounds

Alignment- Chaotic Neutral (_Good Tendencies_)

Class- A Level 8 Fighter and Vampire Hunter

Jander is not nearly as arrogant as most High Elves, he's often quite humble, (For an elf), but he can be a bit over-dramatic. He was transformed into a vampire but killed his master and retained his goodness. Read _Vampire of The Mists_ by Christie Golden for more information.

_Lathander_

The Morninglord

Alignment- Neutral Good

Class- Greater Deity of Athletics, Dawn, Health, The Sun, Youth

Lathander was and still is Jander's god, even though he hates the undead. He's arrogant and self-righteous, and he caused something called _The Dawn Cataclysm_, in which he tried to transform the human pantheon in his own image, leading to the deaths of several other deities. He never accepted the blame. He was later absorbed into another deity called Amaunator, though Jander has no way of knowing that.

_Athaekeetha, Bluetspur, Illithids, Lathander and Vampire Illithids _belong to TSR

_Jander Sunstar_ belongs to Christie Golden


End file.
